Florida City Council Rejects Strip Club Proposal

The Jacksonville City Council cast a unanimous vote against adult entertainment on Tuesday, rejecting a proposal to allow strip clubs and other sexually-oriented establishments to remain in their existing locations.

The proposal was drafted as part of a free-speech lawsuit filed against the city by three nude clubs and one employee in response to a 2005 zoning controversy.

In July 2005, the Jacksonville council approved new regulations requiring adult businesses to maintain at least a 500-foot distance from homes and 1,000 feet from schools and churches. The council decided in November 2005 to void a grandfather clause that permitted existing businesses to stay open until a change in ownership, demanding that all adult businesses in violation of the ordinance to close or move by 2010.

City council members told the Jacksonville Tribune that the unscheduled vote on the issue was the result of public demand for tougher adult zoning restrictions.